Tawny
by Kati3Un1corn
Summary: I tend to lose myself in thought and ignore the world sometimes. When Leah's pack bonds were cut, I thought I was just dreaming because I'd been having a nightmare. Sage and I went to Asil's hothouse and he told me to go to Bran's. What can I say? Stuff happens.
1. Chapter 1 (new AN and minor changes)

**This is a clean version of a story which is also on Archive Of Our Own. It might turn out differently because I have to write it a bit different to make it that way, and it may change the outcome of my muse. This story occurs before Cry Wolf, and I'm planning to use this as a foundation to create a retelling of the Alpha and Omega books (which will probably come out way different than Patty's originals.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Please Review!**

"I'm going to Asil's, wanna come?" Sage asked from the kitchen.

I stood form the chair, albeit slightly regretfully, and stretched, yawning. "Yeah, sure. Really, though, why don't you just fuck him?"

Sage sighed. "You know exactly why, Nicole, he's still mourning his mate."

I rolled my eyes. "God, he wants it."

My best friend ignored me. "Come on, loser," she said, and walked out the door. I followed her, closing it behind me.

"It's way too cold out here," I complained.

"You always say that," she replied.

"It's always true," I said.

Sage snorted, trekking to her car. I followed, sliding into the passenger seat and cranking the heater all the way up, then squeaking when it was cold and turning it off again. She started the car and I curled up into the seat, resting my head between my knees.

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"I've only been here one year!"

"This place has two modes, cold and colder."

"And _inside_ ," I said irritably, turning on the heater again now that the engine had warmed up, but we were already halfway to Asil's.

"Fine," she allowed.

Our relationship seems really passive-aggressive sometimes, but we're good. Stopping her car in front of Asil's hothouse. He didn't say anything at first when we entered, but when he did speak, it was unexpected.

"Nicole, you should go to Bran's house."

I raised my eyebrows, then checked out the pack bonds. Bran was really upset. "Why me?" I asked.

"You can be oblivious. Just go," he said, waving me out. Puzzled, I left the hothouse and started walking to Bran's house, ignoring the cold in favor of trying to figure out why Bran was in such a funk.I felt at the pack bonds more, and felt an absence— I thought I'd been dreaming when I'd felt the pack bonds break.

"Leah is gone," I told myself quietly, then started moving faster. "But how would I help?"

Pushing open Bran's door, the scent of his distress was strong in the air, as was the projection of calm presumably coming from Anna. I quickly trotted up to the room where they were, Bran's study, and opened the door to find Bran pinning Anna to the wall. No wonder her projection of calm was so weak. She glanced at me as I entered, and strengthened her calm, pushing it outward.

"Bran?" I asked. "Asil said to—" He quickly released Anna and grabbed me, and I probably would have squeaked had I not been doped up on Omega magic. Pinning my wrists against the wall, he growled at me, and I tried to break eye contact but couldn't. Anna's calm slowly started to sink in, his eyes fading back to warm hazel. He let go of me, shame in his eyes, and I wished Anna wasn't there.

"Asil said to what?" he asked after a few long seconds.

"Come here. The first thing he said when Sage and I went into his hothouse was 'Nicole, you should go to Bran's house.' Then he called me oblivious and just waved me out."

Bran's eyes got a gold glint to them again for a brief second, then it was gone, and he nodded. "Anna, you should go home."

"Bran," she started.

"Go," he ordered simply. Reluctantly, she nodded, even though she could have refused.

"Did he say why?" Bran asked once she'd left.

"Not why I'd help, if that's what you're asking, and I figured out the issue on my way over," I replied.

He just nodded again, and I didn't know what to say.

"You're still uncomfortable around me," he said after a moment.

"Things happened in my old pack, and when I was a kid. While this place—" I gestured at our surroundings and Aspen Creek in general, "—helps, thirty years of abuse is hard to heal from. It doesn't happen in a day, or a few weeks, or even a few months like in stories. It lingers."

"I'm sorry I didn't find out sooner."

"Bran, that isn't your fault."

"It's my job."

"Then it's an occupational hazard."

He huffed a derisive laugh. "You could say that."

"Well, I just did."

He smiled a little bit at that, his eyes on the floor, sitting on his desk and kicking his feet, but he still smelled upset. "Would you stay here tonight?"

Admittedly a bit taken aback, I replied, "Of course, whatever helps."

He nodded. "Thank you."

I shook my head, joining him on the desk. "It's nothing."

I froze as he touched my hair softly. Quickly withdrawing his hand, he apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. None of them ever did that, you just surprised me."

"Never?" he asked.

"Not like that, no."

He nodded in understanding. "Nicole?"

I looked at him.

"You're safe here," he said, and reinforced it with his dominance. For the first time in years, I actually did feel safe. I moved closer to him and he put an arm around me, and I relaxed a bit.

"Thank you," I said.

"It's my job."

I grinned. "You're good at it."

"There are a lot of people who would disagree."

"There are a lot of people who are idiots, Bran."

He smiled again. "True."

"Unfortunately."

He laughed again, but I was frustrated that he wasn't feeling much better.

"Bran, what can I do?"

The mood in the room became much more subdued. He shook his head. "Leah left a few days ago. Our mating bond was cut by a witch, along with her pack bonds, earlier today. The wolf is… more angry than sad, but not much more."

I sighed. "That doesn't tell me how to help."

"Just stay here."

Puzzled, I let it lie, but only from the finality and slight discomfort Bran emanated. I nodded. We sat in silence for a while, until I started to tense up again, my brain working itself up over being alone with a dominant male. I started staring at my feet and shrinking away a bit subconsciously.

Bran looked at me, concerned. "Nicole, I'm not going to hurt you."

"It's still hard to believe that most of the time," I said quietly.

He nodded. "I still can't trust witches."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime," he said, and the subject was closed. "Want to go for a run?"

I nodded, both accepting his closing the subject and his offer of a run. "Yeah. I think we could both use one." Sliding off the desk, I turned to face him. "Meet you outside?"

He nodded and I left, going into the bathroom but leaving the door partially open so I could open it in wolf form. I undressed and folded my clothes, starting the excruciating process of the Change.

My wolf is tawny, with a black chest and ears and a black spot on my left eye, which is ice blue (my right one is gold, my wolf has heterochromia). My tail is tipped in black, like Bran's except his is white, and my muzzle is like caramel with pepper sprinkled throughout, as are my legs. My front left foot is black, and I have a little cloud-shaped splotch on my right flank, which Sage calls my 'cutie-mark' in reference to _My Little Pony_. I shook myself, then pushed the bathroom door open with my nose and trotted to the front door, exiting the house.

Bran was waiting as agreed upon, and his tail wagged a tiny bit when he saw me. Jerking his head north, as if to say _come on_ , he started running in the indicated direction. Chasing him, I plowed through the snow, paying the cold no mind as I ran, the euphoric feeling of freedom being all that was on my mind. Most wolves loved the hunt most, but my favorite part was the chase; the wind blowing through my fur, my eyes watering from the wind, the trees flowing past me as I leapt over fallen logs and rocks. I raced after Bran, falling snowflakes sticking to my fur, then melting. I caught up to him, still running hard, and started to pass him. Redoubling his speed, his tail passed my nose and he left me in his tracks. Somehow, I started going faster, attempting to catch up to him. Ahead of me, I saw him turn back to his house, so I cut back without completing the path he had; we'd never declared it a competition, so I could hardly cheat, could I?

I fell over into the snow behind Bran's house and he gave me a contemptuous look. I let my mouth hang open and my tongue loll out, going inside to change again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I get no money from this. Please review!**

"You can't cheat if it isn't a competition," I sang as I left the bathroom, and Bran gave me a filthy look. I just smiled, sitting on the counter. "Whatcha making?" I asked, looking at the bowls on the counter. "No, let me guess, pancakes. That looks like pancake batter."

He didn't give a reply. I pouted, and he growled. "Don't."

Confused, I stopped,. But replied. "Why?"

"Because," he stated unhelpfully.

"Fine, can I go to my house and pack an overnight bag?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Take the Humvee."

"Thanks," I replied, jumping off the counter and taking the keys, leaving the house and turning on the heater in the car ASAP once the engine warmed. I backed out of the driveway, driving to my house, and I opened the door to a blast of warm air. I hurried inside, closing the door behind me and going to my room to shove some clothes in a backpack. After a moment's thought, I took my acoustic guitar, too, then made the mad dash back to Bran's Humvee through the snow. Thanking God that the engine hadn't cooled too much, I blasted the heater again, just sitting in my driveway for a moment before driving, soaking up the heat.

I really hate the cold. I loved staying inside, anyway, and I had a home and a good pack, now, so it wasn't as bad, but I still _really_ hate the cold. I jumped up and down in the entryway of Bran's home for a second to warm myself back up. Unlacing my boots, I put them in the closet, then (very reluctantly) my jacket as well, using one of the spare hangers. I went into a spare bedroom to change (it was after five o'clock, and pajamas are so much better than denim). I curled up on the couch with my guitar and started strumming a Maroon 5 cover without the lyrics. I heard Bran in the kitchen distantly, but allowed myself to mostly tune out the outside world and concentrate on the music.

I set the guitar down as I reached the end of the song and went into the kitchen still carrying it to find the pancakes abandoned and Bran nowhere to be seen. I frowned. Flipping the pancakes, then started looking around for him. I checked the entire ground floor, then went back to the kitchen to remove the pancakes and unplug the griddle before continuing.

I'd saved his and Leah's bedrooms, both individual and shared, for last. I knocked on the door to his room first, with no answer, then Leah's, to the same result. I knocked on their shared one last, and poked my head in to find Bran on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a tear leaking out of his visible (hazel) eye.

"Bran?" I whispered, but he didn't seem to be in the present. I nodded to myself, then started to play another song on the guitar I still held, this time a Beethoven cover, softly, curled up in a chair. I glanced up and found him asleep, so I moved him into a better position and climbed onto the bed next to him, wrapping my arms around his middle and fell asleep with him, having never turned on the light.

* * *

Anna had decided that she should go check on Bran, and Nicole, too. She was in Charles's truck (he'd gone somewhere on business), parked in Bran's driveway. She got out, trudging through the snow to the door and opened it, toeing off her boots before proceeding into the house. There were pancakes in the kitchen, some of the batter left uncooked in the bowl. It was a mess and unlike Bran, so she continued looking through the house to find a bag that smelled like Nicole in one of the guest rooms. Anna checked each bedroom but found Nicole absent, and so proceeded to the three bedrooms which had been (previously) Bran's, Leah's, and their shared room.

Nicole was with Bran in the latter of the three, curled tight around him as they slept together. _When did this happen?_ Anna asked herself, taking out her phone and snapping a picture, sending it to Charles. _Look what I found_ , she added to the picture, leaving the room and closing the door gently as not to wake them, going back into the kitchen to finish cooking the pancakes and clean up, putting them in a plastic bag and into the fridge, then went home, pondering what she'd found.

* * *

I woke up to hear a phone conversation in the next room. "—hurts and helps," I heard Bran say. "You know why I took Leah as my mate. I could never love her."

"Maybe it's time for you to try to overcome that fear, Da," the person on the other end replied, and I decided that it was a private conversation, so I took my guitar from the chair and went downstairs. Someone had finished making the pancakes and cleaned up, because the kitchen was spotless again.

Sometimes my guitar can become a bit of an obsession— I play mostly as a sort of therapy. My wolf is really dominant and being stuck at the bottom of the pack makes her angry, but the music soothes her and makes her easier to handle. I started softly strumming enough to cover Bran's conversation upstairs and stared off into space, thinking about what I _had_ heard without really realizing it, letting my fingers move instinctually from my years of practice. It hadn't taken me long to re-learn my old proficiency after I'd gotten out of my abusive old pack. I'd been more dominant than the Alpha there, and they'd kept me locked in a silver cage most of the time, when they weren't trying to rape me. I still have the scars from the silver weapons they used, and the memories of being drugged with a silver/DMSO/ketamine mixture were as vivid as the day I acquired them. I felt myself start crying, but I was too distant from myself to really be involved in where my mind was wandering. It was like a lucid dream, except I wasn't asleep. I was aware of my fingers moving but I didn't really feel it as I lost myself in memory.

 _I was in wolf form, curled up in the center of the cage to avoid touching the silver. I tried to hold in a whimper as I saw Darian enter the room with a syringe, and my grogginess was wiped away in a rush of adrenaline and fear as he advanced, and my Alpha drew from his entire pack to push me over the edge into human form. I was tired, hungry and weak as I felt my bones begin to crack and the Alpha watched me maliciously, syringe in hand and smiling a bit. I wasn't a large person; five-foot nothing, long (blonde, but you couldn't tell from the dirt and sweat) hair and green eyes, somewhat stocky (but mostly as a result of being a werewolf). I shook on the floor of the cage and curled in on myself to keep the silver away from my skin as Darian approached the cage. He unlocked it, pulling me out by my right arm, and injected some of the drug he had in the syringe. I went woozy again as he dragged me out and into his bedroom, where he put the syringe in a desk drawer as he started stripping, dumping me on his bed. I curled into as small a ball as possible. Everything hurt as he forced me onto my back and crawled on top of me—_

"Nicole," Bran said, shaking me. He'd taken my guitar from my arms and I was curled up, sobbing, my face soaked with my tears. "Nicole, you're not there anymore. He's dead. You're safe."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried, and he picked me up and sat down in the chair, settling me in his lap and petting my hair soothingly. I sobbed harder, remembering how filthy I felt after his hands roved my skin, how violated I'd felt when he was whispering things in my ear in his bed as he abused my body. I let Bran's dominance comfort me as I cried on his shoulder and he stroked my hair soothingly. He smelled like safety and pack and Bran, a sweet saltiness along with the mint and musk all werewolves possessed.

"You smell sorta like caramel, I never noticed before," I said shakily.

"You smell like dark chocolate," he replied, still petting my hair.

I let out a watery giggle. "We're the perfect match."

I felt Bran go stiff under me, and looked up. He had paled and his eyes were gold.

I had a sense of dawning comprehension as I had an idea. "Bran, are you philophobic?"

"What?" he asked, but he sounded weird.

"You're scared of love. I'm a psychologist, Bran, I know these things. Is it because of Blue Jay Woman?"

He nodded. "How did you know about her?"

"People like to talk to me. I'm actually kinda sort-of friends with Charles, I think," I said uncertainly.

"You're not scared of him?"

I shook my head. "Only when I stop to really think about it. Then again, Anna is almost always handing out calm vibes. Really, are you okay?"

"Are you?"

I took a deep breath. "I will be, eventually, if you are."

"Your dominance shows a lot."

I grimaced. "I've always been a horrible actor, but really, pot calling kettle."

"I never said I didn't like it," he replied somewhat irritably.

"Was that what happened last night?" I asked quietly. "Your philophobia."

He nodded. "I panicked when I saw you playing your guitar."

"Are you sure it wasn't just my horrendously attractive physique and personality? Or are acoustic guitars sexy now?"

"You're beautiful when you play. You get lost in it."

"I'd say the same, but you tend to look more pensive. But you're beautiful all the time, so whatever," I replied with a smile. "I'm not going to push you unless you want me to."

He nodded, and we fell silent, Bran still stroking my hair.

"Pancake salad?" he asked after a second.

"Absolutely," I replied.

 **I hope you enjoyed; please REVIEW and tell me if you did! And pancake salad doesn't have greens in it, just to clear that up. It's tiny (or cut up) pancakes with chopped fruit and syrup or jam for dressing (I wanted to have Bran and Nicole share a quirk).**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Both Bran and I were still somewhat tense and unsteady as I chopped strawberries. He got up and left, and I watched him go, listening for where he was headed. I heard a small _thunk_ as he knelt in a room I thought was his office. I finished cutting the strawberries, putting some in each bowl and adding blueberries and raspberries, then the syrup. Taking two forks, I grabbed the bowls and pushed open the door to Bran's office, which was where he was. I put the bowls on his desk and knelt beside him.

"You're more dominant than Charles, aren't you?" Bran asked.

I nodded, staring into the fire he'd lit as he was.

"They did it because they couldn't control you," he continued.

I shook my head, watching the still-growing flames. "Not only that. I was the only female in the pack. They killed Lucy because she was a lesbian."

He grimaced and I broke my stare at the fire to glare at him. "Not your fault," I growled.

"Be careful," he growled back.

"We're both victims here," I replied. "It's okay to show that to me, Bran."

"I'm more dominant," he growled lowly.

"By a split hair, if that," I scoffed. "I'd be your second if I weren't female, maybe even challenge your position as Marrok."

"Mercy would like you," he replied.

"Everybody loves me, don't try to change the subject by appealing to my ego."

"If I acknowledged what you said, the Berserker would escape."

"Just for now, just tonight. We can go back to the way it was a week ago tomorrow."

His eyes flashed, but his resolve weakened slightly. "If the beast gets free—" he started.

"Your wolf already thinks of me as your mate. You can tell. He'll listen to me."

"Nicole," he started.

"Shut up," I ordered with a glare. "Relax. The wolf wants to listen, doesn't it?"

His eyes widened a tiny bit. "It wasn't like that with Leah."

I growled. "I'm not Leah."

He looked up from the fire. He didn't growl or snarl, and his eyes were earnest as he replied. "I know."

"Bran…"

"You really should be careful," he said, still staring into the fireplace. "The wolf wants you more than he ever wanted anybody else."

"You don't?" I asked, hurt but feeling a bit guilty about it. "I mean, that's okay," I added hastily, not wanting to push him too hard. "Sorry."

He looked up at me sharply. "I do want you. I'm just not ready yet."

"I'm sorry, Bran. I didn't mean to push you."

"You're always pushing me somehow. It's part of who you are." At my worried look, he continued. "A good part, Nicole. It's one of my favorite things about you."

"Anna would say you're—" I stopped myself before I could finish with _acting like a lovesick puppy_. "Never mind."

He seemed mildly curious but dismissed it with a nod. As he looked back into the fireplace, I could see him smile a bit, as if he already knew what I had been about to say.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable; on the contrary, it was rather peaceful, with only the sound of the crackling log fire. After a while, though, I sensed Bran getting restless again, and he stood up, taking one of the bowls and dumping an excessive amount of syrup into it.

I sighed, standing and joining him, but with less syrup. "We should've added bacon," I said regretfully.

"Then we would've had to put in chocolate shavings, too."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked as I stabbed a strawberry with my fork.

"I don't have any," he replied, and I looked at him, putting my bowl down.

"That," I proclaimed, "is an abomination. One cannot own strawberries without chocolate. I'll have to go grocery shopping."

Bran nodded. "I'm not sure it would be wise to leave me here alone." He looked at me. "You're dominant enough to control me with the aid of our bond. If the berserker takes control, do whatever you can to keep him in check until you can shoot him."

"Let me take you as my mate, it'll be safer. We don't have to have anything as humans if you don't want to," I said, even though it would hurt if he didn't want that. _Stupid_ , I reprimanded myself.

"No," he growled, the fork bending in his grip. "I won't."

I calmly approached and took the bowl from him, sliding it onto the desk, then taking both of his hands. "I won't be like Leah."

"That's why I won't," he growled.

"You can't be afraid forever," I stated. I was growling now, too.

A flash of vulnerability, then fear, entered his eyes, and his resolve cracked a bit. "It's worked for two and a half centuries."

"It won't work for three," I growled, pulling him a little bit closer without breaking eye contact.

"It could."

"It won't."

"Only because you won't let it."

"It's hurting you."

"I can deal with that."

I growled. "I can't!" Pulling him closer, I threaded my fingers through his sandy hair and rested my forearms on his shoulders. I still hadn't broken eye contact. His eyes had changed from human warm hazel to molten gold. I knew mine were amber and blue as I looked into his. "I need to talk to Bran. Please?"

I knew neither Bran nor his wolf would hurt me, but the golden eyes and predatory posture brought old memories to the surface, and I barely kept myself from breaking down. His wolf's eyes were full of lust and want, and I slowly backed away into the corner of his study.

I growled. "I can't!" Pulling him closer, I threaded my fingers through his sandy hair and rested my forearms on his shoulders. I still hadn't broken eye contact. His eyes had changed from human warm hazel to molten gold. I knew mine were amber and blue as I looked into his. "I need to talk to Bran. Please?"

I knew neither Bran nor his wolf would hurt me, but the golden eyes and predatory posture brought old memories to the surface, and I barely kept myself from breaking down. His wolf's eyes were full of lust and want, and I slowly backed away into the corner of his study.

* * *

At the sight of their mate afraid, the wolf faltered enough to let Bran retake control. He sent a message to Anna mentally: _It's Nicole, I need you here._

He sat cross-legged on the floor, pulling Nicole into his arms and rocking her gently. Losing track of time for a while, Bran buried his nose in her hair, hugging her tightly, but when she started to moan and whimper he snapped out of the trance, beginning to shake her. "Nicole," he said, calling her name in an attempt to bring her out of her apparent flashback. "Nicole. Nicole!"

She shuddered, and he tried to use his dominance to soothe her, to no noticeable effect; he kept trying anyway. She started shaking continually now, goosebumps rising on her skin. "Nicole, it's me, it's Bran, you're safe," he pleaded with her, but she couldn't hear him. Anna rushed in and knelt beside the two dominants, pushing out waves of power, but she didn't try to touch either of them. Bran kept saying her name until she jolted awake.

* * *

"Nicole!" Bran shouted. He had pulled me into his arms and was rocking me as Anna sent out powerful waves of calm. It washed over Bran's study like ocean waves. I was sobbing into his shoulder, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane as he held me like a small child. "They're dead. They can't hurt you anymore. Nicole. Nikki."

The nickname brought my wolf to the forefront of my mind, my eyes turning gold and blue as I scrambled away, knees to my chest. I was shaking and unable to speak as the panic attack overtook me again, unpenetrated by the Omega's calm. The vivid terror drowned me as the flashback overtook me again.

* * *

Anna gave Bran a sharp look. "You can _never_ call her that. It's the nickname she used in her old pack. When Charles got there, the Alpha was calling her that while raping her."

A look of instant regret crossed his face and darkened as the Omega finished, then he nodded. "I won't." Nicole went limp in his arms.

"She's asleep," Bran said to the Omega. "We should get her home."

Anna shook her head. "Put her in your bedroom. It isn't you she fears, it's the look in your wolf's eyes. Give her time and work with her on it."

"She's been here a year; why hasn't she gotten any better, talked to anyone?"

"Nicole is a lot more dominant than anyone here except you. She probably has a really hard time admitting her problems. Do you want help moving her?"

Bran shook his head, picking up Nicole's limp form. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, get her a chocolate cake. It's her favorite comfort food." Anna turned and took a step towards the door, but turned again. "Take care of her, Bran. She deserves it," she said, and left. The Marrok nodded again, leaving his study.

As he was about to open his bedroom door, Nicole jerked in her sleep, then moaned. Tears started running down her already stained cheeks again, and elbowed the door open. "Nicole," he said, shaking her a bit. Laying her gently on his bed, he shook her. "Nicole. Nicole!"

She wasn't waking up, so he yelled her name, but that failed, as well. She whimpered, and she brought her legs up to her chest protectively, rocking a little bit. He sat her up, pulling on her shoulders to do so, and she let out a wolflike whine. "Nicole!" he yelled in her ear.

She gasped, throwing her arms around his neck and collapsing. He guided her to a horizontal position and put his arms around her, one encircling her waist as he buried his fingers in her long blonde hair.

"I'm… sorry…" she choked out into his chest through her sobs.

"Don't be," he replied as he began stroking her hair. "Is there anything I can do?"

"My mom always used to make chocolate cake…" she mumbled, tightening her grip on him.

"Anna said you'd want that. Do you want to go do that or stay here a minute?"

"Here…" she said, curling her legs in and breathing deeply. "Chocolate can wait. You're warm."

Bran huffed a laugh as she wrapped a leg around him, but as he thought about it he became slightly uncomfortable.

"I know; me, too, but we both need to work past it. I couldn't with anybody else, not even Sage. Can't show weakness."

Bran sighed, but nodded.

"Plus, I can steal more of your body heat this way."

That made him smile into her hair. "So, I'm your personal heating pad."

She pulled back a bit to look at his face. "No, you're my personal furnace, my alpha, my mate, and my pillow. You're a great multitasker."

"I'm not your mate," Bran protested. "We haven't—"

She clapped her hand over his mouth to silence him. "All things in time. It's not as if our wolves aren't already halfway there."

"Nicole, do you even remember what happened in my study?"

Carefully maintaining her even breathing, she nodded, moving away a little bit. "I'm not saying we'll be okay today, or tomorrow, or the day after, but we both need to heal."

"You don't have to do this."

"You don't, either," she replied. She'd pulled away from him again to look at his face. "I won't force you to be my mate, and if you really want me to go, you can send me away and I'll listen."

"You're good at that."

"At what?"

"Forcing me to do something while completely submitting," Bran replied, carefully keeping the growl out of his voice.

"You're forcing yourself; I'm just great."

Bran smiled as she fell into a peaceful sleep next to him.

 **I hope you liked it! I hope it wasn't too long; I couldn't find a good spot to end it, so I just brought it to that end because it was 2 AM. Please REVIEW!**


End file.
